Simply Being Belle (8 page)

“We should
probably go.”

“We haven’t eaten
yet,” he protested.  He passed her a corndog, and set the potato wedges between
them.  They ate in silence for a moment or two, until he spoke.  “It seems to me
it’s time for you to forgive yourself.  Frankly, you’ve made a mountain out of
a mole hill.  I mean, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t regret something of a
misspent youth.  I’d say your offenses are pretty minor, all things considered.”

“Please give it a
rest.”

“You’re too
intense.  Really, you need to forgive yourself.  I mean, if you can’t forgive
yourself,” he persisted, “how can you forgive others their foibles or
inadequacies… their flaws?”  He reached for a potato wedge and studied it
briefly before popping it into his mouth. 

She took a deep
breath.  “Look, I’m not concerned about other people’s foibles or
inadequacies,” she said in measured tones.  “I’m a tolerant person.  Additionally,
I make no excuses for mine—my flaws, that is.”

“You’re a lawyer,”
he pointed out reasonably.  “Of course you’re concerned about other people’s
foibles or inadequacies.  And if people didn’t have flaws, and by the boatload,
for that matter, you and I would be out of a job.”  He popped another potato
wedge into his mouth.

“Don’t-want-to-talk-about-this,”
she said in a sing-song voice, resisting the urge to shove her fingers into her
ears and begin humming to drown him out. 

He pressed on.  “You
were just a kid!”

She glanced at him
aghast.  “I have known many, many mature teenagers during my lifetime.  I was a
… a mean girl before the movies came out.”  She sighed loudly.  “I really don’t
want to talk about this,” she practically moaned.

“Talking about it
is exactly what you need to do.  Listen, I’ll give you an explanation for your
behavior.  Your parents indulged you.  You were an only child, correct?”

“As if that’s an
excuse,” she countered.  “I’ve heard it all before,” she groaned.  “The truth
is, I was a self-centered, pompous little princess, who didn’t care one iota
about anyone but myself.  It’s sickening to me even now.”

“You didn’t know
any better,” he said in her defense. 

“But I should
have…” she murmured, and to her horror, her eyes clouded.   

Dare smiled as he
reached across the table to give her hand a gentle squeeze.  “So exactly how
long do you plan on punishing yourself?”

She shrugged.  She
didn’t have an answer.  She planned to destroy the tape after she viewed it on
her thirtieth birthday, but she couldn’t begin to speculate whether or not her
guilt would be assuaged then. 

He continued to
watch her, eyes brimming with compassion. 

“I refuse to
discuss this any further.  I hardly know you.  For all
you
know, I’m the
very same person today you saw in that tape.”

“You’re not!” he
said, aghast.  “You’re nothing like her.  Frankly,” he said with a rueful grin,
“it’s a shame you didn’t hold onto a little something of that person.”

“What do you
mean?” she gasped in horror.

“That Belle knew
how to have fun.  ‘Let’s get this party started!’” he said with a chuckle,
copying sixteen-year-old Belle.

“That’s not
funny,” she moaned.

He reached for her
hand again, but she was too quick for him and pulled back.  “I’m sorry,” he
said.  “I don’t mean to upset you.”

Suddenly, his
pager buzzed.  He snatched it off of his belt.  He cast Belle an apologetic
glance as he checked the number.  “Ah, shoot,” he muttered.  “I have to go.  I
was waiting for a certified letter from Biggs and apparently it’s just been
delivered.” 

“What sort of
letter?” she asked with unconcealed interest.

“I’ll have to fill
you in later,” he told her.  “May I call you at home?”

She nodded. 
“Shall I drive you back to work?”

He shook his
head.  “It’ll be just as quick if I walk.”  He smiled, hurried to retrieve his
brief case from her car, waved, and headed briskly toward Legal Aid. 

She watched his
retreating figure, and couldn’t help but notice the cut of his suit, or how his
broad shoulders emphasized his narrow waist, or…  She gave her head a swift
shake.  Admittedly, he was gorgeous, but his personality needed work.  Good
grief.  Why was she analyzing him anyway? 

She had to fight
the inclination to follow him back to Legal Aid, knowing Millicent wouldn’t
appreciate it if she showed back up at work only a handful of minutes after
she’d effectively been tossed out on her ear.

With a sigh, she
gathered up their lunch and tossed everything into a receptacle.  She suddenly
wasn’t very hungry.  She’d consented to lunch with Dare because she had wanted
to discuss the case.  So much for that idea. 

“You spent another
day in your garden?” Lacey said with disgust.  “How much weeding can one person
do?”

“A lot,” Belle
said reasonably.  “Actually, I probably could have finished up most of the
weeding today if I hadn’t had to keep answering your phone calls,” she
grumbled.  “You’ve called me what?—three times, since you got off work?”

“I’m trying to
plan an evening out, and you’re being obstinate—as usual.  You need a night
out, Belle.  You need to enjoy your vacation!”

“I am—well, as much
as I’m capable of enjoying it, I guess,” she conceded.

“Belle…” Lacey
sighed, “as my Grandma Edna used to say, you’re an odd duck.”

“That’s strange,”
she mused.  “I’ve never met your Grandma Edna.  How could she know whether I’m
an odd duck?  Or even a duck, for that matter?”

“You know what I
meant,” Lacey said huffily.

“Didn’t you tell
me your Grandma Edna is kind of an odd duck?  Isn’t she the one who reuses
plastic peanut butter jars?”

“You find that
odd?” Lacey asked curiously.  “I would have thought that was right up your
alley.  Aren’t you all about recycling and living green?”

“Well, yeah, to a
point…”        

“How did we go
from planning a night out to talking about my Grandma Edna and reusing peanut
butter jars anyway?” Lacey cut in.

“Hey, you brought
it up,” Belle said.

“I did … not.  Did
I?”

Belle hitched her
cordless phone under her chin, so she could make a grab for the dried dishes in
her dishwasher.  She began putting them away.   

“You know what?”
Lacey said.

“What?”

“I’m looking up ‘vacation’
in the dictionary right now and here’s what it says…”

“I know the meaning
of the word,” she interrupted with a sigh.  “Spare me, Lacey.”

“No, no you don’t
know what ‘vacation’ means.  You haven’t a clue what ‘vacation’ means!  Here’s
the definition.  ‘A period of time for pleasure, rest, or relaxation’.  Funny,
it doesn’t mention anything about toiling in the garden day in and day out.”

“Uh huh.”

“Is that all you
have to say?”

“What do you want
me to say?”

“That you’re going
to enjoy your vacation—that it’ll be a time for pleasure, rest, and
relaxation.  I’m thinking Dare might be willing to help you out with the pleasure
part.”

“I don’t
even
want to know what you mean by that!” Belle snapped.

“Okay, look,”
Lacey said reasonably.  “Steven and I are going out to Riverside Restaurant
tonight, seven o’ clock.  If you’re not there, we’re coming to get you.”

“Oh, Lacey, I
really am tired.  I’m thinking I’ll turn in early tonight.  I’d like to get an
early start tomorrow morning.  The garden isn’t going to weed itself.”

“AARRGGHH!” Lacey
cried.  “You said you’re nearly done with the weeding.”  She was suddenly
silent and Belle imagined she was counting to ten.  “Look,” she said finally, “you’re
coming out with us and you’re going to have a great time.  I’ll keep calling
until you say yes,” she threatened.

Belle remained
silent on the other end of the phone line.  She knew Lacey’s wasn’t an idle
threat and that her friend would continue to pester her if she didn’t give in. 
“Okay, I’ll be there,” she said with a beleaguered sigh.  She had to concede
that she probably did need a night out. 

“Good!” Lacey said,
sounding somewhat surprised she had acquiesced.  “Dress in something nice.”

“Don’t I usually dress
in something nice when I go out to dinner?”

“Not always. 
Besides, I heard about the stylish ensemble you put together for your meeting
with Dare yesterday.”  She chuckled.  “I understand you flashed half the
office.”

“I did not!  Did
I?” she moaned.  “I didn’t think anybody saw…”

“A big, gaping
hole in your t-shirt?  Yeah, they saw.”

A wave of
mortification washed over her.  Suddenly, she felt weary and wished she hadn’t
surrendered to Lacy and agreed to a night out.  But too late, she would never
let her off the hook now. 

“I’d better go
then,” she murmured.  “I need to see if I have anything clean in my closet.”

“Wear that pretty
sundress—you know, the one with splashes of blues and purples.  It really
brings out your eyes.”

“Why do I need to
bring out my eyes?”

“Just wear it.”

***

Belle arrived at
the Riverside Restaurant fifteen minutes late.  It wasn’t like her to be late,
but she’d spent the better part of the last forty-five minutes attempting to
iron wrinkles out of the blue and purple sundress that she’d found stuffed into
a dresser drawer. 

She climbed out of
her car, smoothing the dress with her hands as she hurried toward the
restaurant entrance.  No doubt Lacey would be annoyed by her tardiness. 
Suddenly, she was feeling annoyed with Lacey and decided she could be tardy if
she darn well pleased. 

She picked up her
pace anyway and was reaching for the door when someone called out her name.  She
spun around, surprised to see Dare striding toward her, a broad smile on his
face. 

“I’m glad you
could make it,” he said cheerfully.  “I’m a little late myself.”  She watched
him curiously, and he noticed.  “I was held up at work,” he informed.

She nodded
distractedly.  Wait.  He said he’d been held up.  Held up with what?  Oh, how
she wanted to ask him if the holdup had anything to do with the Rodriguez case.

Wait.  Why was he telling
her he was late?  And why didn’t he seem particularly surprised to see her?  And
then a light bulb went on in her overtired brain.  “You’re meeting Lacey and
Steven too?”

 He nodded. 
“Yes.  Didn’t you know?”

“Oh, well, no,
but…”

“Do you mind?” 
His crisp blue eyes bore into hers, and the corners of his mouth quirked into a
hopeful smile.

“Oh, no, not … at
all,” she said, realizing she hadn’t sounded particularly coherent since coming
to face to face with him.  She didn’t sound particularly convincing, either. 

“Shall we?” he
said, reaching past her and opening the door.

She stepped past
him and into the crowded restaurant.  She immediately spotted Lacey and Steven
sitting side by side on a bench along a wall in the lobby.  Lacey offered a
small wave, while Steven motioned them over. 

She started to
make her way through the crowd, when she felt a warm hand on her low back.  She
found herself guided through throngs of people toward her friends. 

Lacey grimaced
when they reached her.  “Steven didn’t make a reservation,” she said in a flat
tone, shooting him a look of daggers.

He shrugged.  “Sorry. 
I forgot.”

“Not a problem,”
Dare said and glanced around.  “Maybe there’s space in the bar.  Do you know if
we can order dinner there?”

Lacey nodded.

“I’ll check it
out,” he said.  He was gone all of thirty seconds, but returned shaking his
head.  “No room,” he said simply.

“We could go
somewhere else,” Lacey suggested.  “What do you think, Belle?”

Belle met her
friend’s gaze and shrugged.  Vaguely she registered Steven and Dare talking
about something, but she didn’t listen.  What did she think? Lacey had asked. 
She thought her friend might have mentioned Dare would be joining them this
evening.  Now she understood why Lacey had insisted she wear the multi-colored
sundress that apparently brought out her eyes. 

She felt awkward beside
Dare, with the clusters of people crowding against them and forcing them closer
than she would have liked—well, she had to admit, she liked his close proximity
just fine, which she found oddly disconcerting.  Why would she want to be
anywhere near the man when he’d stolen her case, her job—for the short term
anyway—and even her prized coffee cup? 

She eyed him
furtively, wondering at the waves of heat that seemed to radiate from the well-muscled
bicep that was currently plied against her bare shoulder.  He was dressed
casually in khaki pants and a blue polo shirt, and she couldn’t help but notice
how the fabric of the shirt strained against his chest.  She was so acutely aware
of him, she wondered what this heightened awareness meant.     

Suddenly, she was
pulled from her thoughts when Dare’s blue eyes caught hers.  “Does that sound
all right to you?” he asked, smiling.

“What?” 

“Did you hear
anything we’ve been talking about?” Lacey asked in a fatigued voice.

“Uh…well…no,” she
admitted.  “What were you saying?”

She heard Dare’s
deep, throaty chuckle beside her.  Had he realized she was practically staring
at his chest? Her face suddenly flamed red.

“What?” she
repeated, her brows furrowed in a frown.

Lacey let out a
frustrated sigh.  “I was suggesting we barbecue at your place.  It’s plenty
warm out tonight, and you have the best backyard for a get together…”  She
abruptly raised a dismissive hand and slid a glance over to Steven and Dare.  “Nope. 
Bad idea.  This evening is about getting Belle out of her yard.  If we go to
her place, she’ll probably fire up the lawn mower instead of the grill…”